Like a beautiful and delicate snowflake, no two friendships are alike. Unlike the beautiful and delicate snowflake, some friendships break out the flamethrowers in the face of this sickening sweetness.

This trope can often serve as a warning that something may be wrong as well. When one of the Vitriolic Best Buds suddenly stops responding to insults or flinging barbs of their own, the other may pick up on the sudden change in behavior as a sign that something is not right.

Woe betide any outsider to this unusual 'friendship' who thinks that because one is constantly snarking on the other, it gives the outsider the right to make snide comments about the other as well; usually, they will quickly (and painfully) learn that "no one makes fun of him/her butme." This is more a given when the vitriol is mutual between both friends, but in the variation where only one is vitriolic it may be a Pet the Dog moment or proof that aw, look: They really do like each other!

NOTE: Due to a recent rewrite of this page, many examples will still refer to previous "type one and type two" dynamics. "Type two" is the version of the trope described above, while "type one" is a variation in which only one friend is vitriolic while the other friend is completely oblivious to the vitriol and much, much friendlier. If you come across such an example elsewhere on the wiki, please correct it to be clear without the type label.

Misato and Ritsuko are old friends and poke and snark at each other constantly.

In chapter 2:

Ritsuko: He's examining her? What kind of 'examination' is he giving her now? Misato: Cut that out! I'M SERIOUS HERE!!! Ritsuko: Hmmm... is the Great Major Katsuragi losing her self-control? * click* Ritsuko: She gets upset too easily these days...

Empath: The Luckiest Smurf: Besides the Brainy and Clumsy relationship from the cartoon show, there's Empath and Hefty as well as Hefty and Duncan McSmurf. Despite Hefty's dislike for both Empath and Duncan, he pretty much knows that they care for him and will stick by him like glue.

HERZ: Asuka and Hikari are friends since they were teenagers, but they enjoying poking fun at each other when they hang together. Mocking each other’s husband good-naturedly is almost a requirement during their reunions.

In Gensokyo 20XX, Yuuka and Eirin are more less this, as they do spend a bit of time being subtly hostile to each other but are nonetheless on good terms and they do care for each other.

In 20XXII, we have Kaguya and Mokou. Confirmed that they are roommates.

The central premise of the MLP fanfic Unlikely Allies. Trixie drags Twilight along on an adventure to save Equestria. Along the way they constantly bicker with each other over Twilight's need to compensate for something, Trixie's shady past, whether or not Starswirl the Bearded was the father of magic theory or an overrated joke, and practically everything in between... while sneaking into enemy territory, taking down monsters, and fighting the bad guy together. They are clearly enjoying themselves immensely.

Sunset Shimmer and Twlight Sparkle become this in Stallions Of Harmony Verse. In their first scene together, they mock and belittle each other, and are clearly academic rivals. However when their attempt to sneak out of Canterlot and help save Shining results in Sunset assaulting a Royal Guard, Sunset assures Twilight that she'll take the fall for the assault , while Twilight assures her that they (and Moondancer) are in this together. As the narrative points out, "Friendship is weird."

In A Wizard's Fairytale, Aries Kalgarias (formerly Harry Potter) and Druella Macnair. When questioned by an outsider Aries describes the relationship as a "mutually miserable friendship."

In The Ashikabi of Fire, Harry Potter and Homura spend most of their time either cuddling up next to each other or getting into fire-enhanced fist fights. Later Harry, Ron, and Hermione all treat each other like this. Hermione's parents approve of anyone who can stay friends with her after they get into a fist fight.

In The Ashikabi of Romance by the same author, Harry and Kazehana are described as being the only Ashikabi and Sekirei to actually court before winging. Namely, Kazehana didn't want an Ashikabi and Harry didn't want to be kissed by an older woman so every time she tried, he punched her in the face. Even after Harry wings her, they spend most of their time arguing over various anime with her chasing him around the room/house the entire time.

From Kill la Kill AU, we have Rei and the kids (Ryuko, Nui, Satsuki, and Mako). To quot Nui, in Police Brutality:

"Then again, she damn well would be because, even though Ryuu one time messed with her booze, changed the password to her computer and wouldn't tell her what it was, and has been an all and out asshole and did just as many assholish things to her, she still cared, even if she does want to kill us sometimes."

Earlier, we see Ryuuko and her sisters. Naturally, later in the comic, we have their relationship with her being rather strained due to the former' delinquent antics, yet they are just as upset with the prospect or being separated as she is.

Weiss Reacts: Yang and Weiss evolve into this as the series progresses. It's pretty clear that despite the snarking from either sides and the trolling from Yang, they will back each other when worst comes to worst. Weiss avenges Yang when she gets taken out during the Antic War, and Yang is one of the first to leap to Weiss' defense when she is kidnapped by Siegmund Schnee and the person who delivers a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to an Ursa that attempts to kill her.

In The Pride of Sunnydale, Xander and Buffy spend most of their conversations sniping at each other, likewise Xander and Giles tend to sling insults each others way fairly often, regardless Xander considers Buffy somewhere between his best friend and girlfriend and thinks of Giles as his father. Contrast with Xander and Angel who constantly insult each other because they can't stand one another.

In the supercrossover military fanfic The Terminators: Army of Legend, the relationships between Piermont and Spyro, Alex and Sapphire, and Alex and Tiberius eventually evolved into this after initially being a typical case of Headbutting Heroes. Although they might have become friends, the snarkiness between the pairings never seems to have died.

In Sonic the Hedgehog AU Prison Island Break, Sonic and Shadow are this. Most obviously, Shadow has never had any other friends in the prison, but admires Sonic for genuinely standing up to him no matter what. On the other side, Sonic admires Shadow for being one of the few people to not simply succumb to his charisma and raging ego the way everybody else seems to, making him feel like he's earned this friendship.

In Wonderful, Taylor and Sophia are called “frienemies” by their friends and co-workers. They don't get along but they hang together and often fight together.

In Children of an Elder God, Misato and Ritsuko are this. They tease and mock each other the whole time, but they're good friends. When Ritsuko woke up from her long slumber, she asked about Misato right away.

Ritsuko: Hmm. I see you're busy. When you two are done, I need to see Misato." Misato: I was just trying to find out who his girlfriend is! Ritsuko: I suppose he had it written on the inside of his underwear or something?

Mild example with Steve and Bucky in Ain't No Grave. They actually get along very well, but something about their friendship brings out both guys' inner child and outer smartass, and they tease each other like a couple of middle-schoolers. (Never mind that both men are technically over ninety.)

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